Tuesday, June 13, 2006

THEY TELL ME IT’S MAIBOCK TIME

It’s May, and you know what that means, beer fans – wait a minute, it’s June 13th? Well stow me for a lubber, as the Katzenjammer Kids used to say. Well May meant Maibock time, and way back in late May I sampled an American brewery’s interpretation of this German style. Here, let’s surf on over to Beer Advocate and see how they define maibocks:

"The Maibock style of beer tends to be lighter in color than other Bock beers and often has a significant hop character with a noticeable alcohol around the same as a traditional Bock. Maibocks are customarily served in the spring and are oftentimes interrelated with spring festivals and celebrations more often in the month of May".

I got into the celebratory spirit of the season and had the girl pull me a pint of REDWOOD COAST BREWING's Tied House Maibock, and a few sips in I was kinda hoping she’d take it back. Flat and dull despite the shimmery orange color – and I mean orange, like a translucent glass of Anita Bryant-style Florida pulp-free. Its tartness & lack of inner fire just didn’t do it for me. It wasn’t hard to render a verdict quickly -- 4/10, enough to see the liquid to the bottom of the glass one time out, and that’s about it. These guys are, to the best of my knowledge, a contract brewer for the Tied House chain of breweries in the SF Bay Area. The Tied House is the place one goes to in San Jose to quaff a pitcher before a Sharks (NHL) game, not to savor the rich, distinct brewing techniques of the olde country - so there you go. Better luck next May, fellas.